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American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 73, No. 3, 582-585, March 2001
© 2001 American Society for Clinical Nutrition

Original Research Communication

High prevalence of lactose absorbers in Northern Sardinian patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus1,2

Gian Franco Meloni, Carla Colombo, Carlo La Vecchia, Adolfo Pacifico, Paolo Tomasi, Augusto Ogana, Anna Maria Marinaro and Tullio Meloni

1 From the Department of Paediatrics and Neonatology and the Department of Internal Medicine, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy, and Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri and Istituto di Statistica Medica e Biometria, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.

Background: Increased intestinal lactase activity has been shown to occur in alloxan and streptozotocin diabetic rats.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether increased intestinal lactase activity is present in humans with diabetes mellitus.

Design: We assessed the capacity to digest lactose by measuring breath-hydrogen production after oral administration of lactose in 50 patients with type 1 diabetes, 50 patients with type 2 diabetes, and 50 healthy control subjects from Sassari, Sardinia, Italy, a population characterized by a low prevalence of lactase persistence (lactose absorbers).

Results: Fourteen percent of control subjects were lactose absorbers, compared with 48% of patients with type 1 diabetes and 52% of patients with type 2 diabetes (P < 0.005). The odds ratio of lactase persistence in patients with type 1 diabetes was 5.3 (95% CI: 2.0, 14.0) and in patients with type 2 diabetes was 5.5 (95% CI: 2.1, 14.5).

Conclusions: Diabetes is associated with increased intestinal lactase activity in humans. Consequently, there is a greater exposure to glucose and galactose in diabetic patients with high lactose consumption. This may explain the association between diabetes and the risk of cataract.

Key Words: Lactase • lactose absorption • type 1 diabetes • type 2 diabetes • Italy






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